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Appendix I: The Grade Levels Compared: Language Arts

The elementary school standards are set at a level of performance approximately equivalent to the end of fourth grade. The middle school standards are set at a level of performance approximately equivalent to the end of eighth grade. The high school standards are set at a level of performance approximately equivalent to the end of tenth grade. It is expected that some students might achieve these levels earlier and others later than these grades.

An array of work is required to achieve any single standard. The work becomes increasing refined and sophisticated as students get older. The complexity of the tasks used to generate the work also increases. This notion of requiring students to hone the sophistication of their performances while simultaneously working with increasingly complex assignments cuts across all the Language Arts standards.

These standards allow for oral performances of student work whenever appropriate.

Much writing can be classified as belonging to the public arena. New Standards, however, defines public documents to mean those pieces of text that are concerned with public policy, that address controversial issues confronting the public, or that arise in response to controversial issues or public policy. Public documents are included in the Reading standard at middle school level (d) and constitute a separate standard at high school level ( ). At the middle school level, the issues students write about come primarily from the school or local community. At high school, students should address issues which are of national importance.

Functional writing is writing that exists in order to get things done. Functional writing is ordinarily considered technical writing and, as such, is often not part of the typical English curriculum. New Standards requires students to demonstrate proficiency with functional writing because such writing is of increasing importance to the complex literacy of our culture. Functional documents are included in the Reading standard at middle school level (e) and constitute a separate standard at high school level ( ).

Reading / Public Documents / Functional Documents

Elementary School


a The student reads at least twenty-five books or book equivalents each year. The quality and complexity of the materials to be read are illustrated in the sample reading list. The materials should include traditional and contemporary literature (both fiction and non-fiction) as well as magazines, newspapers, textbooks, and on-line materials. Such reading should represent a diverse collection of material from at least three different literary forms and from at least five different writers.

b The student reads and comprehends at least four books (or book equivalents) about one issue or subject, or four books by a single writer, or four books in one genre, and produces evidence of reading that:

• makes and supports warranted and responsible assertions about the texts;
• supports assertions with elaborated and convincing evidence;
• draws the texts together to compare and contrast themes, characters, and ideas;
• makes perceptive and well developed connections;
• evaluates writing strategies and elements of the author’s craft.

c The student reads and comprehends informational materials to develop understanding and expertise and produces written or oral work that:

• restates or summarizes information;
• relates new information to prior knowledge and experience;
• extends ideas;
• makes connections to related topics or information.

d The student reads aloud, accurately (in the range of 85-90%), familiar material of the quality and complexity illustrated in the sample reading list, and in a way that makes meaning clear to listeners by:

• self correcting when subsequent reading indicates an earlier miscue;
• using a range of cueing systems, e.g., phonics and context clues, to determine pronunciation and meanings;
• reading with a rhythm, flow, and meter that sounds like everyday speech.

 

Middle School


a The student reads at least twenty-five books or book equivalents each year. The quality and complexity of the materials to be read are illustrated in the sample reading list. The materials should include traditional and contemporary literature (both fiction and non-fiction) as well as magazines, newspapers, textbooks, and on-line materials. Such reading should represent a diverse collection of material from at least three different literary forms and from at least five different writers.

b The student reads and comprehends at least four books (or book equivalents) about one issue or subject, or four books by a single writer, or four books in one genre, and produces evidence of reading that:

• makes and supports warranted and responsible assertions about the texts;
• supports assertions with elaborated and convincing evidence;
• draws the texts together to compare and contrast themes, characters, and ideas;
• makes perceptive and well developed connections;
• evaluates writing strategies and elements of the author’s craft.

c The student reads and comprehends informational materials to develop understanding and expertise and produces written or oral work that:

• restates or summarizes information;
• relates new information to prior knowledge and experience;
• extends ideas;
• makes connections to related topics or information.

d The student demonstrates familiarity with a variety of public documents (i.e., documents that focus on civic issues or matters of public policy at the community level and beyond) and produces written or oral work that does one or more of the following:

• identifies the social context of the document;
• identifies the author’s purpose and stance;
• analyzes the arguments and positions advanced and the evidence offered in support of them, or formulates an argument and offers evidence to support it;
• examines or makes use of the appeal of a document to audiences both friendly and hostile to the position presented;
• identifies or uses commonly used persuasive techniques.

e The student demonstrates familiarity with a variety of functional documents (i.e., documents that exist in order to get things done) and produces written or oral work that does one or more of the following:

• identifies the institutional context of the document;
• identifies the sequence of activities needed to carry out a procedure;
• analyzes or uses the formatting techniques used to make a document user-friendly;
• identifies any information that is either extraneous or missing in terms of audience and purpose or makes effective use of relevant information.

High School


a The student reads at least twenty-five books or book equivalents each year. The quality and complexity of the materials to be read are illustrated in the sample reading list. The materials should include traditional and contemporary literature (both fiction and non-fiction) as well as magazines, newspapers, textbooks, and on-line materials. Such reading should represent a diverse collection of material from at least three different literary forms and from at least five different writers.

b The student reads and comprehends at least four books (or book equivalents) about one issue or subject, or four books by a single writer, or four books in one genre, and produces evidence of reading that:

• makes and supports warranted and responsible assertions about the texts;
• supports assertions with elaborated and convincing evidence;
• draws the texts together to compare and contrast themes, characters, and ideas;
• makes perceptive and well developed connections;
• evaluates writing strategies and elements of the author’s craft.

c The student reads and comprehends informational materials to develop understanding and expertise and produces written or oral work that:

• restates or summarizes information;
• relates new information to prior knowledge and experience;
• extends ideas;
• makes connections to related topics or information.

Public Documents
a The student critiques public documents with an eye to strategies common in public discourse, including:

• effective use of argument;
• use of the power of anecdote;
• anticipation of counter-claims;
• appeal to audiences both friendly and hostile to the position presented;
• use of emotionally laden words and imagery;
• citing of appropriate references or authorities.

b The student produces public documents, in which the student:

• exhibits an awareness of the importance of precise word choice and the power of imagery and/or anecdote;
• utilizes and recognizes the power of logical arguments, arguments based on appealing to a reader’s emotions, and arguments dependent upon the writer’s persona;
• uses arguments that are appropriate in terms of the knowledge, values, and degree of understanding of the intended audience;
• uses a range of strategies to appeal to readers.

Functional Documents
a The student critiques functional documents with an eye to strategies common to effective functional documents, including:

• visual appeal, e.g., format, graphics, white space, headers;
• logic of the sequence in which the directions are given;
• awareness of possible reader misunderstandings.

bThe student produces functional documents appropriate to audience and purpose, in which the student:

• reports, organizes, and conveys information and ideas accurately;
• includes relevant narrative details, such as scenarios, definitions, and examples;
• anticipates readers’ problems, mistakes, and misunderstandings;
• uses a variety of formatting techniques, such as headings, subordinate terms, foregrounding of main ideas, hierarchical structures, graphics, and color;
• establishes a persona that is consistent with the document’s purpose;
• employs word choices that are consistent with the persona and appropriate for the intended audience.

 

The number of books required for a does not increase as students get older, but the length and complexity of what is read does increase (as indicated by the sample reading lists), so, this standard becomes increasingly formidable.

 a assumes an adequate library of appropriate reading material. In some places, library resources are too meager to support the amount of reading required for every student to achieve this standard. Where a shortage of books exists, better use of out-of-school resources must be made; for example, students may have to be assured access to local or county libraries.

Reading twenty-five books a year entails a substantial amount of time. Students may use materials read in conjunction with their regular class work, including courses other than English, to satisfy this requirement.

Reading continued

Elementary School

Fiction
Blume, Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing;
Brink, Caddie Woodlawn;
Byars, The Pinballs;
Cleary, Dear Mr. Henshaw; Ramona and Her Father;
Coerr, The Josefina Story Quilt;
Dalgliesh, The Courage of Sarah Noble;
Estes, The Hundred Dresses;
Fleischman, The Whipping Boy;
Fritz, The Cabin Faced West;
Gardiner, Stone Fox;
Griffin, Phoebe the Spy;
Hamilton, Zeely;
Hansen, The Gift-Giver;
Himler, Nettie’s Trip South;
Lord, In the Year of the Boar and Jackie Robinson;
MacLachlan, Journey; Sarah, Plain and Tall;
McSwigan, Snow Treasure;
Mendez and Byard, The Black Snowman;
Naidoo, Journey to Jo’Burg;
O’Dell, Zia;
Ringgold, Tar Beach;
Wilder, Little House on the Prairie;
Yep, The Star Fisher.

Non-Fiction
Aliki, Corn is Maize: The Gift of the Indians;
Baylor, The Way to Start a Day;
Cherry, The Great Kapok Tree;
Cole, The Magic School Bus on the Ocean Floor;
Epstein, History of Women in Science for Young People;
Fritz, And Then What Happened, Paul Revere?;
Godkin, Wolf Island;
Greenfield, Childtimes: A Three-Generation Memoir;
Krensky, George Washington: The Man Who Would Not Be King;
McGovern, The Secret Soldier: The Story of Deborah Sampson;
McKissack, Frederick Douglass: The Black Lion;
Polacco, Pink and Say;
Sattler, Dinosaurs of North America;
Sterling, Freedom Train: The Story of Harriet Tubman.

Poetry
Ahlberg, Heard It in the Playground;
Blishen and Wildsmith, Oxford Book of Poetry for Children;
De Regniers, Moore, White, and Carr, eds., Sing a Song of Popcorn;
Giovanni, Ego-Tripping and Other Poems for Young People;
Greenfield, Honey, I Love and Other Love Poems;
Janeczko, Strings: A Gathering of Family Poems;
Koch and Farrell, eds., Talking to the Sun;
Lobel, ed., The Random House Book of Mother Goose;
Manguel, ed., Seasons;
Mathis, Red Dog, Blue Fly: Football Poems;
Silverstein, Where the Sidewalk Ends.

Folklore
de Paola, The Legend of the Bluebonnet;
French, Snow White in New York;
Goble, Buffalo Woman;
Griego y Maestas, Cuentos: Tales From the Hispanic Southwest;
Huck and Lobel, Princess Furball;
Kipling, The Elephant’s Child;
Lee, Legend of the Milky Way;
Louie and Young, Yeh-Shen: A Cinderella Story From China;
Luenn, The Dragon Kite;
Steptoe, Mufaro’s Beautiful Daughters; The Story of Jumping Mouse.

Modern Fantasy and Science Fiction
Andersen, The Ugly Duckling;
Bond, A Bear Called Paddington;
Dahl, James and the Giant Peach;
Grahame, The Wind in the Willows;
Lewis, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe;
Norton, The Borrowers;
Van Allsburg, Jumanji;
White, Charlotte’s Web.

Children’s magazines
Action (Scholastic);
Creative Classroom;
News (Scholastic);
Social Studies for the Young Learner;
Weekly Reader;
World (National Geographic).

Other
Newspapers, manuals appropriate for elementary school children, e.g., video game instructions, computer manuals.

Middle School

Fiction
Barrett, Lilies of the Field;
Boyd, Charlie Pippin;
Buck, The Big Wave;
Cisneros, The House on Mango Street;
Clark, Freedom Crossing;
Coerr, Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes;
Collier, My Brother Sam Is Dead;
Cormier, I Am the Cheese;
Danziger, The Cat Ate My Gymsuit;
DePauw, Seafaring Women;
De Saint-Exupery, The Little Prince;
Eckert, Incident at Hawk’s Hill;
Fast, April Morning;
Fox, The Slave Dancer;
Fritz, Homesick: My Own Story;
Gaines, A Gathering of Old Men;
George, Julie of the Wolves;
Greene, Summer of My German Soldier;
Hamilton, Anthony Burns: The Defeat and Triumph of a Fugitive Slave; The House of Dies Drear;
Hansen, Which Way Freedom?;
Holman, Slake’s Limbo;
Hunt, Across Five Aprils;
Konigsberg, The View From Saturday;
Levoy, Alan and Naomi;
London, The Call of the Wild;
Lowry, Number the Stars; The Giver;
Maclachlan, Baby;
Mathis, Listen for the Fig Tree;
Mohr, Nilda;
Neville, It’s like This, Cat;
O’Brien, Z for Zachariah;
O’Dell, Island of the Blue Dolphins; The Black Pearl;
Paterson, Bridge to Terabithia; Park’s Quest; Jacob Have I Loved;
Paulsen, Canyons;
Peck, A Day No Pigs Would Die;
Rawls, Where the Red Fern Grows;
Rylant, Missing May;
Schaefer, Shane;
Soto, Living Up the Street: Narrative Recollections;
Speare, Sign of the Beaver; The Witch of Blackbird Pond;
Spinelli, Maniac Magee;
Steinbeck, The Pearl;
Taylor, Roll of Thunder Hear My Cry;
Voigt, Dicey’s Song; Homecoming;
Wojciechowska, Shadow of a Bull;
Yep, Dragonwings;
Yolen, The Devil’s Arithmetic.

Non-Fiction
Abells, The Children We Remember;
Amory, The Cat Who Came for Christmas;
Berck, No Place to Be: Voices of Homeless Children;
Frank, The Diary of a Young Girl;
Freedman, Children of the Wild West; Lincoln: A Photo Biography;
George, The Talking Earth;
Haskins, Outward Dreams;
Hautzig, Endless Steppe: A Girl in Exile;
Herriott, All Creatures Great and Small;
Lester, To Be a Slave;
Meyers, Pearson, A Harbor Seal Pup;
Murphy, The Long Road to Gettysburg;
Reiss, The Upstairs Room;
White, Ryan White: My Own Story;
Yates, Amos Fortune, Free Man.

Poetry
Adams, Poetry of Earth and Sky;
Bruchac, Four Ancestors: Stories, Song and Poems from Native North America;
Eliot, Old Possum’s Book of Practical Cats;
Frost, You Come Too;
Greenfield, Night on Neighborhood Street;
Livingston, Cat Poems.

Drama
Davis, Escape to Freedom;
Gibson, The Miracle Worker;
Hansberry, A Raisin in the Sun;
Lawrence and Lee, Inherit the Wind;
Osborn, On Borrowed Time;
Stone, Metamora, or, the Last of the Wampanoags.

Folklore/Mythology
Blair, Tall Tale America;
Bruchac, The First Strawberries: A Cherokee Story;
Bryan, Beat the Story-Drum, Pum-Pum;
D’Aulaire, Norse Gods and Giants;
Gallico, The Snow Goose;
Lee, Toad Is the Uncle of Heaven: A Vietnamese Folk Tale;
Pyle, Merry Adventures of Robin Hood.

Modern Fantasy and Science Fiction
Babbitt, Tuck Everlasting;
Bradbury, Dandelion Wine;
Cooper, The Grey King;
Hamilton, The Magical Adventures of Pretty Pearl;
L’Engle, A Wrinkle in Time;
Tolkien, The Hobbit;
Yep, Dragon of the Lost Sea.

Magazines/Periodicals
Calliope (world history);
Cobblestone (American history);
Faces (anthropology);
Junior Scholastic (Scholastic);
Odyssey (science);
Science World (Scholastic);
Scope (Scholastic);
World (National Geographic).

Other
Computer manuals; instructions; contracts. See also the reading lists included in award books corresponding to reading provided by the Girl Scouts of the U.S.A. and the Boy Scouts of America.

High School

Fiction
Achebe, Things Fall Apart;
Brown, Manchild in the Promised Land;
Carroll, Alice in Wonderland;
Clark, The Ox-Bow Incident;
Delaney, Having Our Say;
Ellison, Invisible Man;
Golding, Lord of the Flies;
Hawthorne, The Scarlet Letter;
Hemingway, For Whom the Bell Tolls;
Hentoff, The Day They Came to Arrest the Book;
Hilton, Goodbye, Mr. Chips;
Kingsolver, Pigs in Heaven;
Kinsella, Shoeless Joe;
Knowles, A Separate Peace;
Lee, To Kill a Mockingbird;
McCullers, The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter;
Mohr, In Nueva York; El Bronx Remembered; Nilda;
Morrison, The Bluest Eye;
Orwell, 1984;
Portis, True Grit;
Potok, Davita’s Harp;
Stoker, Dracula;
Tan, Joy Luck Club; The Kitchen God’s Wife;
Wartski, A Boat to Nowhere;
Welty, The Golden Apples.

Non-Fiction
Angell, Late Innings;
Angelou, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings;
Ashe, Days of Grace;
Baldwin, The Fire Next Time;
Beal, “I Will Fight No More Forever”: Chief Joseph and the Nez Perce War;
Bishop, The Day Lincoln Was Shot;
Black Elk, Black Elk Speaks;
Bloom, The Closing of the American Mind;
Campbell, The Power of Myth;
Covey, Seven Habits of Highly Effective People;
Galarza, Barrio Boy;
Hawking, A Brief History of Time;
Houston, Farewell to Manzanar;
Kennedy, Profiles in Courage;
Kingsley and Levitz, Count Us In: Growing Up With Down Syndrome;
Kingston, Woman Warrior;
Malcolm X, Autobiography of Malcolm X;
Mazer, ed., Going Where I’m Coming From;
Momaday, The Way to Rainy Mountain;
Rodriguez, Hunger of Memory;
Sternberg, User’s Guide to the Internet;
Thomas, Down These Mean Streets;
Wright, Black Boy.

Poetry
Angelou, I Shall Not be Moved;
Bly, ed., News of the Universe;
Carruth, ed., The Voice That Is Great Within Us;
Cummings, Collected Poems;
Dickinson, Complete Poems;
Hughes, Selected Poems;
Knudson and Swenson, eds., American Sports Poems;
Longfellow, Evangeline;
Randall, ed., The Black Poets;
Wilbur, Things of This World.

Drama
Christie, And Then There Were None;
McCullers, The Member of the Wedding;
Pomerance, The Elephant Man;
Rose, Twelve Angry Men;
Rostand, Cyrano de Bergerac;
Shakespeare, Midsummer’s Night Dream; Othello; Romeo and Juliet; Julius Caesar;
Sophocles, Oedipus Plays;
Van Druten, I Remember Mama;
Wilder, The Skin of Our Teeth;
Wilson, Fences; The Piano Lesson.

Folklore/Mythology
Burland, North American Indian Mythology;
Evslin, Adventures of Ulysses;
Hamilton, Myths;
Pinsent, Greek Mythology;
Stewart, The Crystal Cave;
White, The Once and Future King.

Modern Fantasy and Science Fiction
Adams, Watership Down;
Asimov, Caves of Steel; Foundation;
Bradbury, The Martian Chronicles;
Clarke, 2001: A Space Odyssey; Childhood’s End;
Frank, Alas, Babylon;
Herbert, Dune;
Hilton, Lost Horizon;
Huxley, Brave New World;
Lewis, Out of the Silent Planet;
McCaffrey, Dragonflight;
Twain, A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court;
Verne, 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea.

Magazines and Newspapers
El Diario;
Amsterdam News;
Consumer Reports;
Ebony;
Jet;
Latina;
Literary Cavalcade (Scholastic);
National Geographic;
New York Times;
Newsweek;
Omni;
Sports Illustrated;
Smithsonian;
Time.

Other
Computer manuals; instructions; contracts; technical materials.

 

b is meant to replace the repertoire of responses that students traditionally write when they respond to literature. This type of response requires an understanding of writing strategies.

The work students produce to meet the Language Arts standards does not all have to come from an English class. Students should be encouraged to use work from subjects in addition to English to demonstrate their accomplishments. The work samples include some examples of work produced in other classes that meet requirements of these standards.

Writing

Elementary School

a The student produces a report that:

• engages the reader by establishing a context, creating a persona, and otherwise developing reader interest;
• develops a controlling idea that conveys a perspective on the subject;
• creates an organizing structure appropriate to a specific purpose, audience, and context;
• includes appropriate facts and details;
• excludes extraneous and inappropriate information;
• uses a range of appropriate strategies, such as providing facts and details, describing or analyzing the subject, and narrating a relevant anecdote;
• provides a sense of closure to the writing.

b The student produces a response to literature that:

• engages the reader by establishing a context, creating a persona, and otherwise developing reader interest;
• advances a judgment that is interpretive, analytic, evaluative, or reflective;
• supports judgment through references to the text, references to other works, authors, or non-print media, or references to personal knowledge;
• demonstrates an understanding of the literary work;
• provides a sense of closure to the writing.

c The student produces a narrative account (fictional or autobiographical) that:

• engages the reader by establishing a context, creating a point of view, and otherwise developing reader interest;
• establishes a situation, plot, point of view, setting, and conflict (and for autobiography, the significance of events);
• creates an organizing structure;
• includes sensory details and concrete language to develop plot and character;
• excludes extraneous details and inconsistencies;
• develops complex characters;
• uses a range of appropriate strategies, such as dialogue and tension or suspense;
• provides a sense of closure to the writing.

d The student produces a narrative procedure that:

• engages the reader by establishing a context, creating a persona, and otherwise developing reader interest;
• provides a guide to action that anticipates a reader’s needs; creates expectations through predictable structures, e.g., headings; and provides transitions between steps;
• makes use of appropriate writing strategies such as creating a visual hierarchy and using white space and graphics as appropriate;
• includes relevant information;
• excludes extraneous information;
• anticipates problems, mistakes, and misunderstandings that might arise for the reader;
• provides a sense of closure to the writing.

 

Middle School

a The student produces a report that:

• engages the reader by establishing a context, creating a persona, and otherwise developing reader interest;
• develops a controlling idea that conveys a perspective on the subject;
• creates an organizing structure appropriate to purpose, audience, and context;
• includes appropriate facts and details;
• excludes extraneous and inappropriate information;
• uses a range of appropriate strategies, such as providing facts and details, describing or analyzing the subject, narrating a relevant anecdote, comparing and contrasting, naming, and explaining benefits or limitations;
• provides a sense of closure to the writing.

b The student produces a response to literature that:

• engages the reader through establishing a context, creating a persona, and otherwise developing reader interest;
• advances a judgment that is interpretive, analytic, evaluative, or reflective;
• supports a judgment through references to the text, references to other works, authors, or non-print media, or references to personal knowledge;
• demonstrates an understanding of the literary work;
• anticipates and answers a reader’s questions;
• provides a sense of closure to the writing.

c The student produces a narrative account (fictional or autobiographical) that:

• engages the reader by establishing a context, creating a point of view, and otherwise developing reader interest;
• establishes a situation, plot, point of view, setting, and conflict (and for autobiography, the significance of events and of conclusions that can be drawn from those events);
• creates an organizing structure;
• includes sensory details and concrete language to develop plot and character;
• excludes extraneous details and inconsistencies;
• develops complex characters;
• uses a range of appropriate strategies, such as dialogue, tension or suspense, naming, and specific narrative action, e.g., movement, gestures, expressions;
• provides a sense of closure to the writing.

d The student produces a narrative procedure that:

• engages the reader by establishing a context, creating a persona, and otherwise developing reader interest;
• provides a guide to action for a relatively complicated procedure in order to anticipate a reader’s needs; creates expectations through predictable structures, e.g., headings; and provides transitions between steps;
• makes use of appropriate writing strategies such as creating a visual hierarchy and using white space and graphics as appropriate;
• includes relevant information;
• excludes extraneous information;
• anticipates problems, mistakes, and misunderstandings that might arise for the reader;
• provides a sense of closure to the writing.

e The student produces a persuasive essay that:

• engages the reader by establishing a context, creating a persona, and otherwise developing reader interest;
• develops a controlling idea that makes a clear and knowledgeable judgment;
• creates and organizes a structure that is appropriate to the needs, values, and interests of a specified audience, and arranges details, reasons, examples, and anecdotes effectively and persuasively;
• includes appropriate information and arguments;
• excludes information and arguments that are irrelevant;
• anticipates and addresses reader concerns and counter-arguments;
• supports arguments with detailed evidence, citing sources of information as appropriate;
• provides a sense of closure to the writing.

 

High School

a The student produces a report that:

• engages the reader by establishing a context, creating a persona, and otherwise developing reader interest;
• develops a controlling idea that conveys a perspective on the subject;
• creates an organizing structure appropriate to purpose, audience, and context;
• includes appropriate facts and details;
• excludes extraneous and inappropriate information;
• uses a range of appropriate strategies, such as providing facts and details, describing or analyzing the subject, narrating a relevant anecdote, comparing and contrasting, naming, explaining benefits or limitations, demonstrating claims or assertions, and providing a scenario to illustrate;
• provides a sense of closure to the writing.

b The student produces a response to literature that:

• engages the reader through establishing a context, creating a persona, and otherwise developing reader interest;
• advances a judgment that is interpretive, analytic, evaluative, or reflective;
• supports a judgment through references to the text, references to other works, authors, or non-print media, or references to personal knowledge;
• demonstrates understanding of the literary work through suggesting an interpretation;
• anticipates and answers a reader’s questions;
• recognizes possible ambiguities, nuances, and complexities;
• provides a sense of closure to the writing.

c The student produces a narrative account (fictional or autobiographical) that:

• engages the reader by establishing a context, creating a point of view, and otherwise developing reader interest;
• establishes a situation, plot, point of view, setting, and conflict (and for autobiography, the significance of events and of conclusions that can be drawn from those events);
• creates an organizing structure;
• includes sensory details and concrete language to develop plot and character;
• excludes extraneous details and inconsistencies;
• develops complex characters;
• uses a range of appropriate strategies, such as dialogue, tension or suspense, naming, pacing, and specific narrative action, e.g., movement, gestures, expressions;
• provides a sense of closure to the writing.

d The student produces a narrative procedure that:

• engages the reader by establishing a context, creating a persona, and otherwise developing reader interest;
• provides a guide to action for a complicated procedure in order to anticipate a reader’s needs; creates expectations through predictable structures, e.g., headings; and provides smooth transitions between steps;
• makes use of appropriate writing strategies, such as creating a visual hierarchy and using white space and graphics as appropriate;
• includes relevant information;
• excludes extraneous information;
• anticipates problems, mistakes, and misunderstandings that might arise for the reader;
• provides a sense of closure to the writing.

e The student produces a persuasive essay that:

• engages the reader by establishing a context, creating a persona, and otherwise developing reader interest;
• develops a controlling idea that makes a clear and knowledgeable judgment;
• creates an organizing structure that is appropriate to the needs, values, and interests of a specified audience, and arranges details, reasons, examples, and anecdotes effectively and persuasively;
• includes appropriate information and arguments;
• excludes information and arguments that are irrelevant;
• anticipates and addresses reader concerns and counter-arguments;
• supports arguments with detailed evidence, citing sources of information as appropriate;
• uses a range of strategies to elaborate and persuade, such as definitions, descriptions, illustrations, examples from evidence, and anecdotes;
• provides a sense of closure to the writing.

f The student produces a reflective essay that:

• engages the reader by establishing a context, creating a persona, and otherwise developing reader interest;
• analyzes a condition or situation of significance;
• develops a commonplace, concrete occasion as the basis for the reflection, e.g., personal observation or experience;
• creates an organizing structure appropriate to purpose and audience;
• uses a variety of writing strategies, such as concrete details, comparing and contrasting, naming, describing, creating a scenario;
•

provides a sense of closure to the writing.

 

Speaking, Listening, and Viewing

Elementary School

a The student participates in one-to-one conferences with a teacher, paraprofessional, or adult volunteer, in which the student:

• initiates new topics in addition to responding to adult-initiated topics;
• asks relevant questions;
• responds to questions with appropriate elaboration;
• uses language cues to indicate different levels of certainty or hypothesizing, e.g., “what if…,” “very likely…,” “I’m unsure whether…”;
• confirms understanding by paraphrasing the adult’s directions or suggestions.

b The student participates in group meetings, in which the student:

• displays appropriate turn-taking behaviors;
• actively solicits another person’s comment or opinion;
• offers own opinion forcefully without dominating;
• responds appropriately to comments and questions;
• volunteers contributions and responds when directly solicited by teacher or discussion leader;
• gives reasons in support of opinions expressed;
• clarifies, illustrates, or expands on a response when asked to do so; asks classmates for similar expansions.

c The student prepares and delivers an individual presentation, in which the student:

• shapes information to achieve a particular purpose and to appeal to the interests and background knowledge of audience members;
• shapes content and organization according to criteria for importance and impact rather than according to availability of information in resource materials;
• uses notes or other memory aids to structure the presentation;
• engages the audience with appropriate verbal cues and eye contact;
• projects a sense of individuality and personality in selecting and organizing content, and in delivery.

d The student makes informed judgments about television, radio, and film productions; that is, the student:

• demonstrates an awareness of the presence of the media in the daily lives of most people;
• evaluates the role of the media in focusing attention and in forming an opinion;
• judges the extent to which the media provide a source of entertainment as well as a source of information;
• defines the role of advertising as part of media presentation.

 

Middle School

a The student participates in one-to-one conferences with a teacher, paraprofessional, or adult volunteer, in which the student:

• initiates new topics in addition to responding to adult-initiated topics;
• asks relevant questions;
• responds to questions with appropriate elaboration;
• uses language cues to indicate different levels of certainty or hypothesizing, e.g., “what if…,” “very likely…,” “I’m unsure whether…”;
• confirms understanding by paraphrasing the adult’s directions or suggestions.

b The student participates in group meetings, in which the student:

• displays appropriate turn-taking behaviors;
• actively solicits another person’s comment or opinion;
• offers own opinion forcefully without dominating;
• responds appropriately to comments and questions;
• volunteers contributions and responds when directly solicited by teacher or discussion leader;
• gives reasons in support of opinions expressed;
• clarifies, illustrates, or expands on a response when asked to do so; asks classmates for similar expansions;
• employs a group decision-making technique such as brainstorming or a problem-solving sequence (e.g., recognize problem, define problem, identify possible solutions, select optimal solution, implement solution, evaluate solution).

c The student prepares and delivers an individual presentation in which the student:

• shapes information to achieve a particular purpose and to appeal to the interests and background knowledge of audience members;
• shapes content and organization according to criteria for importance and impact rather than according to availability of information in resource materials;
• uses notes or other memory aids to structure the presentation;
• develops several main points relating to a single thesis;
• engages the audience with appropriate verbal cues and eye contact;
• projects a sense of individuality and personality in selecting and organizing content, and in delivery.

d The student makes informed judgments about television, radio, and film productions; that is, the student:

• demonstrates an awareness of the presence of the media in the daily lives of most people;
• evaluates the role of the media in focusing attention and in forming opinion;
• judges the extent to which the media are a source of entertainment as well as a source of information;
• defines the role of advertising as part of media presentation.

 

High School

a The student participates in one-to-one conferences with a teacher, paraprofessional, or adult volunteer, in which the student:

• initiates new topics in addition to responding to adult-initiated topics;
• asks relevant questions;
• responds to questions with appropriate elaboration;
• uses language cues to indicate different levels of certainty or hypothesizing, e.g., “what if…,” “very likely…,” “I’m unsure whether…”;
• confirms understanding by paraphrasing the adult’s directions or suggestions.

b The student participates in group meetings, in which the student:

• displays appropriate turn-taking behaviors;
• actively solicits another person’s comment or opinion;
• offers own opinion forcefully without dominating;
• responds appropriately to comments and questions;
• volunteers contributions and responds when directly solicited by teacher or discussion leader;
• gives reasons in support of opinions expressed;
• clarifies, illustrates, or expands on a response when asked to do so; asks classmates for similar expansions;
• employs a group decision-making technique such as brainstorming or a problem-solving sequence (e.g., recognize problem, define problem, identify possible solutions, select optimal solution, implement solution, evaluate solution);
• divides labor so as to achieve the overall group goal efficiently.

c The student prepares and delivers an individual presentation, in which the student:

• shapes information to achieve a particular purpose and to appeal to the interests and background knowledge of audience members;
• shapes content and organization according to criteria for importance and impact rather than according to availability of information in resource materials;
• uses notes or other memory aids to structure the presentation;
• develops several main points relating to a single thesis;
• engages the audience with appropriate verbal cues and eye contact;
• projects a sense of individuality and personality in selecting and organizing content, and in delivery.

d The student makes informed judgments about television, radio, and film productions; that is, the student:

• demonstrates an awareness of the presence of the media in the daily lives of most people;
• evaluates the role of the media in focusing attention and in forming opinion;
• judges the extent to which the media are a source of entertainment as well as a source of information;
• defines the role of advertising as part of media presentation.

e The student listens to and analyzes a public speaking performance; that is, the student:

• takes notes on salient information;
• identifies types of arguments (e.g., causation, authority, analogy) and identifies types of logical fallacies (e.g., ad hominem, inferring causation from correlation, over-generalization);
• accurately summarizes the essence of each speaker’s remarks;
• formulates a judgment about the issues under discussion.

 

Conventions, Grammar, and Usage of the English Language

Elementary School

a The student demonstrates a basic understanding of the rules of the English language in written and oral work, and selects the structures and features of language appropriate to the purpose, audience, and context of the work. The student demonstrates control of:

• grammar;
• paragraph structure;
• punctuation;
• sentence construction;
• spelling;
• usage.

b The student analyzes and subsequently revises work to clarify it or make it more effective in communicating the intended message or thought. The student’s revisions should be made in light of the purposes, audiences, and contexts that apply to the work. Strategies for revising include:

• adding or deleting details;
• adding or deleting explanations;
• clarifying difficult passages;
• rearranging words, sentences, and paragraphs to improve or clarify meaning;
• sharpening the focus;
• reconsidering the organizational structure.

Middle School

a The student demonstrates an understanding of the rules of the English language in written and oral work, and selects the structures and features of language appropriate to the purpose, audience, and context of the work. The student demonstrates control of:

• grammar;
• paragraph structure;
• punctuation;
• sentence construction;
• spelling;
• usage.

b The student analyzes and subsequently revises work to clarify it or make it more effective in communicating the intended message or thought. The student’s revisions should be made in light of the purposes, audiences, and contexts that apply to the work. Strategies for revising include:

• adding or deleting details;
• adding or deleting explanations;
• clarifying difficult passages;
• rearranging words, sentences, and paragraphs to improve or clarify meaning;
• sharpening the focus;
• reconsidering the organizational structure.

High School

a The student independently and habitually demonstrates an understanding of the rules of the English language in written and oral work, and selects the structures and features of language appropriate to the purpose, audience, and context of the work. The student demonstrates control of:

• grammar;
• paragraph structure;
• punctuation;
• sentence construction;
• spelling;
• usage.

b The student analyzes and subsequently revises work to clarify it or make it more effective in communicating the intended message or thought. The student’s revisions should be made in light of the purposes, audiences, and contexts that apply to the work. Strategies for revising include:

• adding or deleting details;
• adding or deleting explanations;
• clarifying difficult passages;
• rearranging words, sentences, and paragraphs to improve or clarify meaning;
• sharpening the focus;
• reconsidering the organizational structure.
• rethinking and/or rewriting the piece in light of different audiences and purposes.

 

Literature

Elementary School

a The student responds to non-fiction, fiction, poetry, and drama using interpretive, critical, and evaluative processes; that is, the student:

• identifies recurring themes across works;
• analyzes the impact of authors’ decisions regarding word choice and content;
• considers the differences among genres;
• evaluates literary merit;
• considers the function of point of view or persona;
• examines the reasons for a character’s actions, taking into account the situation and basic motivation of the character;
• identifies stereotypical characters as opposed to fully developed characters;
• critiques the degree to which a plot is contrived or realistic;
• makes inferences and draws conclusions about contexts, events, characters, and settings.

b The student produces work in at least one literary genre that follows the conventions of the genre.

Middle School

a The student responds to non-fiction, fiction, poetry, and drama using interpretive, critical, and evaluative processes; that is, the student:

• identifies recurring themes across works;
• interprets the impact of authors’ decisions regarding word choice, content, and literary elements;
• identifies the characteristics of literary forms and genres;
• evaluates literary merit;
• identifies the effect of point of view;
• analyzes the reasons for a character’s actions, taking into account the situation and basic motivation of the character;
• makes inferences and draws conclusions about fictional and non-fictional contexts, events, characters, settings, and themes;
• identifies stereotypical characters as opposed to fully developed characters;
• identifies the effect of literary devices such as figurative language, allusion, diction, dialogue, and description.

b The student produces work in at least one literary genre that follows the conventions of the genre.

High School

a The student responds to non-fiction, fiction, poetry, and drama using interpretive, critical, and evaluative processes; that is, the student:

• makes thematic connections among literary texts, public discourse, and media;
• evaluates the impact of authors’ decisions regarding word choice, style, content, and literary elements;
• analyzes the characteristics of literary forms and genres;
• evaluates literary merit;
• explains the effect of point of view;
• makes inferences and draws conclusions about fictional and non-fictional contexts, events, characters, settings, themes, and styles;
• interprets the effect of literary devices, such as figurative language, allusion, diction, dialogue, description, symbolism;
• evaluates the stance of a writer in shaping the presentation of a subject;
• interprets ambiguities, subtleties, contradictions, ironies, and nuances;
• understands the role of tone in presenting literature (both fictional and non-fictional);
• demonstrates how literary works (both fictional and non-fictional) reflect the culture that shaped them.

b The student produces work in at least one literary genre that follows the conventions of the genre.

 

Spanish Reading List
Elementary School

Fiction
Ada, Me llamo María Isabel;
Alonso, El faro del viento;
Bayona, Misterio en el parque;
Blume, Jugo de pecas;
Cardosa, Negrita;
Cherry, El gran capoquero: Un cuento de la selva amazónica;
del Amo, Soñado mar;
Dorros, Don Radio;
Farías, El hijo del jardinero;
Franklin, El aullido de los monos;
Haggerty, Una grieta en la pared;
Lalana, El truco más difícil;
López Narváez, Un puñado de miedos;
Mateos, Capitanes de plástico;
MacLachlan, Sarah, sencilla y alta;
Mohr, La vieja Letivia y el monte de los pesares;
Molina, Así soy;
Pacheco and García, La niña invisible;
Paz, El club del camaleón;
Picó, La peineta colorada;
Robleda Moguel, Viaje en diario alrededor de un año;
Santiago Nodar, El paraíso de abuelita;
Soto, La campeona de canicas;
Uribe, La señorita Amelia;
White, Las telarañas de Carlota;
Zubizarreta, La mujer que brillaba aun más que el sol.

Non-Fiction
Goldner and Vogel, El gran incendio de Yellowstone;
Rodríguez, Roberto Clemente;
Rodríguez, César Chávez;
Zak, Salven mi selva.

Poetry
Darío, Margarita;
Guillén, Por el mar de las Antillas anda un barco de papel;
Jiménez, Canta pájaro lejano;
Martí, Los zapaticos de rosa;
Mistral, Gabriela Mistral y los niños.

Folklore/Mythology/Legends
Chang, El zodiaco chino;
Ingloria, El rey león;
Matos, La princesa que perdió su nombre;
Mohr and Martorell, La canción del coquí;
Morales, Las leyendas del Caribe;
Palacios, Colección “Leyendas de las Américas.”

Modern Fantasy and Science Fiction
Aretzaga, Rana por un día;
Ferro and Urquijo, Ramiro;
Posadas, María Celeste;
Ruano, El caballo fantástico.

Newspapers
El Diario/La Prensa;
El Especial;
Noticias del Mundo.

Magazines/Periodicals
Da qué hablar.

Other
Manuals appropriate for elementary school children, e.g., video game instructions, computer manuals. See also the reading lists provided by Instituto Cervantes.

 Middle School

Fiction
Aguirre Bellver, El hombre de las marionetas;
Alcott, Mujercitas;
Alonso, En busca del tesoro;
Bosco, El niño y el río;
del Amo, La casa pintada;
del Amo, Patio de corredor;
Díaz, El valle de los cocuyos;
Gisbert, El arquitecto y el emperador de Arabia;
Gisbert, El enigma de la muchacha dormida;
Hamilton, Primos;
Hinojosa, Aníbal y Melquiades;
Howe, Bonícula;
L’Engle, Una arruga en el tiempo;
López Narváez, El tiempo y la promesa;
Martí, La edad de oro;
Mayoral, Cuerpos de cobre, corazones de jade;
Molina Llorente, El largo verano de Eugenia Mestre;
Myers, Un lugar entre las sombras;
O’Dell, La perla negra;
Olaizola, El hijo del quincallero;
Orgad, El chico de Sevilla;
Otero, La travesía;
Peña Muñoz, El collar de perlas negras;
Perera, Kike;
Pérez-Avello, Un muchacho sefardí;
Pérez Galdós, Marianela;
Phillips, La hija de paz;
Requero, El poder de las estrellas;
Sennell, La guía fantástica;
Wilder, La casa de la pradera.

Non-Fiction
Frank, El diario de Anne Frank;
Lemoine, Mozart;
Perera, Mai;
Schloredt and Brown, Martin Luther King.

Poetry
Conde, Despertar;
de Burgos, El mar y tú;
Fuentes, La poesía no es un cuento;
García Lorca, Canciones y poemas para niños;
Guillén, Isla de rojo coral;
Jiménez, Canta pájaro lejano;
Mistral, Tala;
Muciano, La bufanda amarilla;
Storni, Antología poética.

Drama
Benavente, El príncipe que todo lo aprendió en los libros;
Calderón de la Barca, El alcalde de Zalamea;
Fernández de Moratín, El sí de las niñas;
Fuentes, Todos los gatos son pardos;
García Lorca, Doña Rosita la solterona;
Lope deVega, Fuenteovejuna;
Marqués, La carreta.

Folklore/Mythology/Legends
Alegría, Fábulas y leyendas americanas;
Barlow, Leyendas de Latino América;
Bergdolt de Walschburger, Leyendas de nuestra América;
Coll y Toste, Leyendas puertorriqueñas;
Delacre, De oro y esmeraldas.

Modern Fantasy and Science Fiction
Martín-Mena, La tierra de nadie;
Sharpe, Suspenso en la bahía;
Sierra I Fabra, Historias asombrosas;
Villanes Cairo, La batalla de los árboles.

Newspapers
El Diario-la Prensa;
El Especial;
Noticias del Mundo.

Magazines/Periodicals
Geomundo;
Latina;
Selecciones;
Temas;
Vanidades.

Other
Computer manuals; instructions; contracts. See also the reading lists provided by Instituto Cervantes.

 High School

Fiction
Allende, Eva luna;
Álvarez, Como las muchachas García perdieron su acento;
Asturias, El señor presidente;
Benavente, Los intereses creados;
Blanco, Cinco cuentos negros;
Bombal, La mortajada;
Borges, El aleph;
Bosch, El oro y la paz;
Cervantes, Don Quijote;
Cisneros, La casa en Mango Street;
Darío Mendoza, Marina de la cruz: Radiografía de una emigrante;
Delibes, La hoja roja;
Esquivel, Como agua para chocolate;
Fuentes, La muerte de Artemio Cruz;
Galdós, Doña Perfecta;
Gallego, Doña Bárbara;
García Marquez, El coronel no tiene quien le escriba;
Gutierrez-B., Al final viene la gloria;
Isaacs, María;
Laguerre, La llamarada;
Matute, Fiesta noroeste;
Meléndez Muñoz, Yuyo;
Pui, El beso de la mujer araña;
Sábato, Abbadón el exterminador;
Unamuno, Niebla.

Non-Fiction
Azuela, Los de abajo;
Barrios, Quiero hablar;
Menchú, Yo, Rigoberta Menchú;
Piñeiro de Rivera, Arturo Schomburg: un puertorriqueño descubre el legado histórico del negro;
Poniatowska, La noche de Tlatelolco;
Salinas, Defensa de un lenguaje;
Santiago, Cuando era puertorriqueña.

Poetry
Darío, Antología poética;
Guillén, Songoro cosongo;
Mistral, Las odas de Pablo Neruda;
Neruda, Veinte poemas de amor y una canción desesperada;
Silén, Paraguas amarillas;
Valdés-Cruz, La poesía negroide.

Drama
Arriví, Vejigantes;
Calderón de la Barca, La vida es sueño;
García Lorca, Bodas de sangre;
Marqués, La carreta;
Shakespeare, Romeo y Julieta.

Folklore/Mythology/Legends
Alegría, Fábulas y leyendas Americanas;
Asturias, Leyendas de Guatemala;
Bécquer, Leyendas de Gustavo Adolfo Bécquer;
Hagen, Los aztecas y los incas.

Modern Fantasy and Science Fiction
García Marquez, La cándida heréndida y su abuela desalmada.

Magazines and Newspapers
El cotidiano;
Época;
Eres;
Este País;
Geomundo;
Selecciones de Reader's Digest;
Tú;
Vanidades;
Vuelta.

Other
Computer manuals; instructions; contracts; technical materials. See also the reading lists provided by Instituto Cervantes and other organizations.